COTABATO CITY, Philippines --- Maguindanao del Norte Vice Gov. Marshall Sinsuat on Thursday assured of his support for the peacebuilding activities and the civil-military relations initiatives of the new commander of the 6th Infantry Division, Brig. Gen. Edgar Catu.
Catu was installed as 6th ID's commander on Thursday morning by the Philippine Army’s commander, Lt. Gen. Donald Gumiran, via a traditional military unit leadership transition rite at Camp Siongco in Datu Odin Sinsuat, Maguindanao del Norte, replacing Brig. Ricky Bunayog, who was the division’s acting commander for about three months.
Catu belongs to the Marilag Class of 1995 of the Philippine Military Academy and was among the top ten graduates in their batch of PMA graduates then.
Catu is well-versed with the religious and cultural settings and the political intricacies in Region 12 and in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, whose two provinces, Maguindanao del Norte and Maguindanao del Sur, and its regional capital, Cotabato City, are inside the 6th ID’s area of responsibility.
Like his predecessor, Bunayog, Catu was involved too, during his stints in different 6th ID units, in various efforts complementing the national government's peace overtures with Moro communities in Central Mindanao and with members of two erstwhile rebel groups, the Moro National Liberation Front and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.
Both the MNLF and the MILF have separate peace agreements with the national government and are together pushing forward the good governance goals of the Bangsamoro regional government.
The event on Wednesday at the gymnasium in Camp Siongco was witnessed by local executives from across Central Mindanao, among them Sinsuat and Mayor Bruce Matabalao of Cotabato City, also a staunch supporter of the 6th ID’s peace and development programs complementing the national government’s Mindanao peace process.
Sinsuat, a first term vice governor, and Matabalao, who is chairperson of the multi-sector Cotabato City Peace and Order Council, are complementing, in various ways, the 6th ID’s outreach activities promoting interfaith and cultural solidarity among their Muslim and Christian constituent-communities.
Sinsuat, whose hometown, Datu Blah Sinsuat, is touted as the most peaceful town in the province, told reporters, at the sideline of Thursday’s event at Camp Siongco, that he shall continue to support the peacebuilding thrusts of the 6th ID, under its new commander, Catu, just as he did during the time of his predecessors.
“I don’t have a problem doing that. My constituent-community leaders in our municipality in Maguindanao del Norte shall also do the same,” Sinsuat said.
Sinsuat had a brief huddle with Gumiran after the installation of Catu as 6th ID commander at the gymnasium in Camp Siongco in Barangay Awang in Datu Odin Sinsuat, where the 6th ID’s headquarters is located.
Gumiran had served as 6th ID commander before he was designated commander of the Western Mindanao Command based in Zamboanga City and, subsequently, as Philippine Army chief.
Datu Blah Sinsuat, which is in the west of Maguindanao del Norte and has 13 seaside barangays, is also tagged as the new investment hub in the province owing to its having had an almost zero crime record in the past seven years.
The mayor of Datu Blah Sinsuat, Raida Tomawis-Sinsuat, is the presiding chairperson of their multi-sector municipal peace and order council, whose members include leaders of the Muslim, Christian and the indigenous Teduray communities in the municipality.